Whatever their moral character before becoming lawyers, working with criminals day in and day out can have a reciprocal effect on some lawyers the way married couples start to resemble each other. In other cases, lawyers can fall prey to the same sorts of dangerous scenarios they prosecute over. Luke Meiners, 38, fell prey to a murderer named Cleophus King, 46, back in 2008, when King befriended him and asked for a ride to his lover’s house to do laundry. Little did Meiners know that he was set up, and that King’s lover, Ronald Johnson, 25, and he had sought to rob Meiners.
 
Surveillance recordings from their neighbors show a 140 minute struggle in which Meiners was beaten, stabbed, strangled, and ultimately murdered; he repeatedly called for help.
 
“Meiners suffered a terrifying several minutes as he fought for his life,” said Assistant Circuit Attorney Rachel Smith. “Luke Meiners had a long time to know he was going to die.”
 
After his bitter end, he was wrapped in sheets, duct taped shut, driven in his own Jeep to a vacant lot in Venice, and summarily dumped. Meanwhile, they looted his apartment and stole his credit card.
 
King avoided the death penalty much as his lover did, by playing ball with the court. He pleaded guilty to first degree murder and in exchange was given life in prison. Among his charges was plotting to kill a prosecutor involved with the case as well.
 
In cases such as these, in which a St. Louis County lawyer became the subject of the sort of case he might otherwise litigate over, we are reminded that lawyers live in the same dangerous world they fight to seek justice in.